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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22528975">To Silence a Devil</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaemonGal/pseuds/DaemonGal'>DaemonGal</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Devil May Cry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Demonic Influence, Devil Trigger (Devil May Cry), Gen, Invictus Zine, Partial Devil Trigger (Devil May Cry)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 12:14:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,650</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22528975</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaemonGal/pseuds/DaemonGal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>My piece for the Invictus Zine.</p><p>Topic: Dante dealing with his inner demon after being awakened post DMC3 while mourning the loss of Vergil</p><p>His guns dropped to the floor as he watched the scales envelop his hands once more, spreading up his arms, the heat invigorating him with a newfound energy as his breaths became hot and laboured.<br/>He felt the warmth spreading up his spine, his heartbeat speeding up uncomfortably, the sound of blood rushing in his ears blocking out all surrounding sounds as he watched the glass silently hit the floor through suddenly too focussed eyes.<br/>His hands balled into fists at his side as anger spread through him, a rage only comparable to when he triggered for the first time atop the tower. A sudden understanding spread through him as he smiled; smiled for the first time in days. A hellish grin full of sharp teeth and malicious intent followed by a deep laughter that threatened to explode from his chest.<br/>“Yessss…” he spoke in a voice he didn’t recognise as his own, “I’ll tear them apart.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>INVICTUS Zine</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>To Silence a Devil</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em> “Hey Dante, is everything ok? You haven’t been out since we came back from the Temen-Ni-Gru.” Lady walked solemnly towards where Dante was seated, concern clear on her features. </em> </p><p><b> <em>Humans, </em> </b> <em> the deep, bestial voice echoed once again in his mind, </em> <b> <em>so weak. She would look so much more delicious with her skin torn open. It would be so easy for us, Dante.</em> </b> </p><p>
  <em> “Piss off!” he screamed in a voice barely his own, smashing his fist against the desk which splintered under the impact. “Just leave me alone!”  </em>
</p><p><em> Lady stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide, sucking in a heavy gasp of air as her expression dropped along with her jaw. Body tense, she reached towards her gun reflexively, taking a slow step back, eyes unblinking as she watched his shoulders slump and head hang heavy. </em> </p><p><em> “Fine,” she lowered her gun, posture still stiff, “if that’s what you really want, I’ll leave you to your self-pity.” She stepped back towards the door, throwing a piece of card to the floor in her wake. “I only came here to help... I’ll still be here when you decide you need it.” Barely holding her voice together, she slammed the door, leaving Dante alone once more. </em> </p><p><em> “I hope you know those words were meant for you, demon.” A deep laugh reverberated through his mind. </em> </p><p><b> <em>“I am more than aware, Dante. We are one, after all, you and I. I hope you realise, there is nowhere for me to ‘piss off’ to. Just embrace me, let me in. You do not understand the power we hold together if you would just allow it.”</em> </b> </p><p><em> His heartbeat was racing at the creature’s words as he looked towards the palm of his left hand, at the cut through the glove that was made by the brother that ‘embraced’ his demon. The one whose strong sense of pride led to becoming the very thing Dante has fought against all this time and eventually, what lead to his undoing. His hand turned into a tight fist as he slammed against the desk again. </em> </p><p><em> “Never. I’ll never become like him!” </em> </p><p><em> “ </em> <b> <em>Oh, Dante; we could be so much more than that.” </em> </b>  </p><p><em> *** </em> </p><p>Silence hung heavy in the room, punctuated by the low hum of beaten air from the ceiling fan and the occasional uninhibited growl rising from the depths of Dante’s chest. He hated this, <em> hated it; </em>being alone with his own thoughts, with his own mind.  </p><p>But what choice did he really have? What options did he have to choose from with the hand he’d been dealt? </p><p>Days had passed since the incident with Lady. Her contact card remained seemingly glued to the floor where it had been left, and Dante remained mostly rooted to the same spot. He had tried to sleep, to get a break, but his dreams only turned into nightmares haunted by the physical manifestation of the demon that plagues his thoughts in his waking hours. </p><p>He had tried to eat, but his disobedient body rejected most of what he consumed. During a final fit of hope, he called for a pizza, praying that his love for the crispy bread crust and melted cheese would be enough to overcome his body’s denial, a pleasant twinge of excitement igniting in his chest for the first time in days.</p><p>The smell of warm food filled his nostrils as a knock echoed through the room. Rising from his chair he choked back a groan, a sudden wave of nausea spreading through him as he took in deep breaths, the air filled suddenly with the heavy scent of something different, surrounding him until it felt as though he could swim through it.</p><p>He gripped the edges of the desk, keeping himself grounded as thoughts and images flashed through his mind, of how little he now cared about the steaming box of food and how suddenly he was craving the one that held it, of how wonderful his sharp teeth would feel digging into their soft-- he threw a hand over his mouth, swallowing down the bile that rose in his throat.</p><p>“This is so messed up. Just let me have this, stop filling my mind with your sick fantasies!” After a further knock on the door followed by a polite “hello?”, Dante’s nails were digging into the wood of the desk, raking lines across it in an attempt to ground himself.  </p><p><b> <em>“Why do you deny us? Your body is crying out for what it needs, you can end this pointless suffering now if you would just indulge us.”</em> </b> </p><p>His fingers became sharp, inhumanly clawed as the lines dug deeper and deeper until, with a dismissive “whatever”, the presence left the doorway and his senses began to calm. The edges of the desk cracked under his grip as he reclined in his chair, sighing once his head cleared of depraved thoughts.  </p><p>It was becoming difficult to fight back; the demon stood proudly on the borderline of his consciousness, a few mere moments away from taking over during a moment of weakness. He was exhausted, watching his hands slowly reverting back to human skin, shuddering at the thought of how unnatural the soft flesh appeared through his eyes.</p><p>“I’m not indulging you with anything, ya hear me.”</p><p>Confident that the human was now well out of reach, Dante rose from his chair and wandered towards the door, each footstep feeling heavier than the last.</p><p>Within seconds, his whole body tensed, senses screaming out as the scent of a demon caught his overly sensitive nostrils. He dove back towards the desk, swiftly grabbing Ebony and Ivory just as the sound of smashing glass filled the room, as time seemed to slow.</p><p>His body was in hyperdrive, eyes flickering between the multiple Hell Prides that fell alongside the shattered shards of glass. He raised his twin guns to point and shoot at the two furthest away, landing a shot clean between their eyes, dissolving them to dust before they had reached the floor.</p><p>
  <b> <em>“Pathetic.” </em> </b>
</p><p>The voice boomed in his head. For once Dante agreed, opening his mouth to acknowledge the statement before being abruptly cut off.</p><p>
  <b> <em>“Not them; you.” </em> </b>
</p><p>His mouth hung open, wordless breaths being all he could form. He’d been called a lot over the past week, but no words had been spoken with such malice. The question hung on the tip of his tongue before it was answered for him.</p><p>
  <b> <em>“You hold your pathetic weapons as if they offer you some kind of comfort. You are a demon, Dante; act like it”</em> </b>
</p><p>His guns dropped to the floor as he watched the scales envelop his hands once more, spreading up his arms, the heat invigorating him with a newfound energy as his breaths became hot and laboured.</p><p>He felt the warmth spreading up his spine, his heartbeat speeding up uncomfortably, the sound of blood rushing in his ears blocking out all surrounding sounds as he watched the glass silently hit the floor through suddenly too focussed eyes.</p><p>His hands balled into fists at his side as anger spread through him, a rage only comparable to when he triggered for the first time atop the tower. A sudden understanding spread through him as he smiled; smiled for the first time in days. A hellish grin full of sharp teeth and malicious intent followed by a deep laughter that threatened to explode from his chest.</p><p><b>“Yessss…” </b> he spoke in a voice he didn’t recognise as his own, <b>“I’ll tear them apart.”</b></p><p>His body lunged forward, newly formed wings spread wide, grabbing and pinning one of the hell prides by the throat. He felt a faint sensation in his arm as he glanced to see the scythe buried into his flesh. </p><p>He laughed; deep, demonic, from the depths of his chest as he inhaled the scent of fear that suddenly enveloped his senses.</p><p><b>“Cower, weakling.” </b>His fist tightened, revelling as the demon squirmed under his grasp momentarily before his claws met crushing it as it turned to dust. A satisfied growl left his throat as he turned, leaping towards another.</p><p>He clawed, essentially tearing the demon in two, adrenaline and heat coursing through him in quantities he had never experienced before. </p><p>The demons continued to flood into the room as Dante continued his carnage, ripping demons apart, gutting the larger demons that followed, turning his shop into a bloody mess. </p><p>Joy; it was the only word he could use to describe how he--or the demon-- felt, looking on at the slaughter he had caused with his bare hands, his mind the clearest it had been since before the tower. </p><p>His body slowly began to sober, his trigger fading as his body returned to its own, the pleased lull of the satisfied demon floating at the back of his mind. His stomach grumbled as he walked single-mindedly towards the door, snatching up the pizza resting on the doorstep. </p><p>Throwing it onto his desk, he grabbed a slice, sucking in a breath tentatively as he took the first bite. He almost shed a tear over how amazing it tasted, his stomach gladly accepting the gift.</p><p>“So,” Dante spoke between greedy mouthfuls, “this enough for ya?” He pointed his crust around the room. “Not quite as human as you imagined, I’m sure, but they bleed all the same.”</p><p>“<b> <em>As long as they are weak, and you are strong. As long as they cower before us and accept our power, it will be enough to keep me sated.”</em> </b></p><p>Dante hummed, eyes scanning the floor as he wandered, kicking aside dust and remains.</p><p>“Well if that’s the case then, we’re gonna have to set a few basic ground rules. And,” he leaned over, picking up the now off-white card, “we’re gonna need a whole lotta demons.” He chucked himself back into his chair, revelling in the quiet before sneering.</p><p>“Looks like I’m gonna have my work cut out for me.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much to my fellow contributors and copper_wasp for moderating this zine and helping to make it such a fun project to work on. I hope you enjoyed the piece and enjoy your zines when you get them!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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